It's "the ultimate, all-in-one home entertainment system."

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Microsoft officially announced its next-generation video game console, the Xbox One, at a press event held at its campus in Redmond, Washington today.

In terms of hardware, the new console has "5 billion transistors," 8GB of RAM, a 64-bit architecture, USB 3.0, a Blu-ray player, and "variable power states." Microsoft also announced a new Kinect sensor that supports more conversational speech and is more sensitive to gestures, which will be an integral component in the new Xbox experience. The new Xbox One controller has updated ergonomics, an integrated battery department, and a redesigned D-pad joystick.

Microsoft also emphasized the new importance of Smart Glass, the app that allows third-party smartphones or tablets to act as remote controls. The company noted that the app will work with the Xbox One natively for a "lag-free and complete experience."

Microsoft showed off a revamped dashboard for the Xbox One. The system remembers what users were last doing and allows them to browse content including TV, music, and movies. The voice command "Xbox on" turns the console on, while "Xbox home" returns the user to the home screen.

A demo of the console used similar commands to swap fluidly between entertainment vectors on the console as well as live TV. Gestures can also be used to control the Xbox One: a pull-together gesture minimized a movie playing to show the dashboard, and a pull-apart gesture maximized the movie again.

A demo showing the Xbox One swapping seamlessly between types of content.

Microsoft showed off the console as a vector for Skype calls, and the company also showed the new system's ability to overlay on-console services on live TV (for instance: showing a fantasy basketball league interface over a live basketball game). The Xbox One can change TV channels with simple commands: "What's on HBO?" pulls up a guide, while "Show NBC" tunes the screen to NBC. The live TV features work via an HDMI pass-through connection, so users will still need a cable or satellite set-top box and subscription in order to view live programming.

The Xbox One will include a DVR and editing tools that will allow users to record and edit their gameplay.

Microsoft announced that four games from EA's slate of sports series (Fifa, Madden, NBA Live, and UFC) will be coming to the console, which will include "live environments" that affect gameplay.

The presentation also included news about an updated Call of Duty title, which will take advantage of the Xbox One's new graphical capabilities. Additionally, Microsoft announced that it has teamed up with Steven Spielberg to produce a live-action Halo TV series.

Don Mattrick, president of interactive entertainment business at Microsoft, called the system “the ultimate all-in-one system.”

Though Microsoft has yet to announce a specific launch date (other than "later this year") or price point for the system, Microsoft said it is aiming for a synchronized worldwide release during this holiday season.

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Kyle Orland
Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in the Washington, DC area. Emailkyle.orland@arstechnica.com//Twitter@KyleOrl

330 Reader Comments

Wow, so much hate. First the PS4 and now this. What did everybody expect? I'm actually curious. Some life-altering, never seen before, mind-blowing, playstation-nuking, self-driving, self-aware, skynet machine?

It's a console. It's a centralized media center for games, videos, music, tv and any other media. It seems cool to me and I will definitely be buying one.

The haters are out in full force and no one cares about your snarky comments saying 'har, har look everyone, it has tv, how revolutionary, i'm an idiot, har har'.

Well, not to break the pattern of internet kvetching, but everything I've seen sounds pretty cool. As a relative late-commer to the 360 (I just got one for the first time about a year ago), I generally like Microsoft's approach to how a console works, so I'm excited about this! New toy for daddy for Christmas.

It doesn't help that I'm a shameless Halo-franchise addict, so it's not like there was much of a doubt, but still. I'm glad MS has taken a technology-forward approach.

The new Xbox One controller has... an integrated battery department...

Excellent. Now I can get all the batteries I need from my Xbox controller!

Joking aside, this is a net-loss, IMO. I like the current design where I can use rechargable NiMH if I want, or just throw in a couple of alkalines if that's what I've got.

That's been one thing that has annoyed me greatly about the PS3 controllers. Half the time when I grab one it's dead, and I have to either find another one or more likely, go play something else while the controller recharges (then not get back to it until it's dead again and repeat).

I have a great Samsung SmarTV, and let me tell you, those voice recognition and gestures are stupid. There's so many times it gets confused and it's so distracting for menus and things to come up while you're watching something. It's just a gimmick. Remote controls for the win.

Well, not to break the pattern of internet kvetching, but everything I've seen sounds pretty cool. As a relative late-commer to the 360 (I just got one for the first time about a year ago), I generally like Microsoft's approach to how a console works, so I'm excited about this! New toy for daddy for Christmas.

It doesn't help that I'm a shameless Halo-franchise addict, so it's not like there was much of a doubt, but still. I'm glad MS has taken a technology-forward approach.

Yeah, my surprise about the promotion of alternate features aside, those alternate features sound pretty nifty.

Wow, so much hate. Fist the PS4 and now this. What did everybody expect? I'm actually curious. Some life-altering, never seen before, mind-blowing, playstation-nuking, self-driving, self-aware, skynet machine?

It's a console. It's a centralized media center for games, videos, music, tv and any other media. It seems cool to me and I will definitely be buying one.

The haters are out in full force and no one cares about your snarky comments saying 'har, har look everyone, it has tv, how revolutionary, i'm an idiot, har har'.

I expected something where you can sit down and play a game without relying on an Internet or an account of some sort or servers doing calculations or a Kinect being active, and all those components working properly and smoothly. You know, like older consoles. If they want to make this a "media center" that's fine, but at least have an option or different model that just plays games without all of this garbage that doesn't interest me.

So, this now entirely does away with the concept of game ownership. You buy nothing. You keep nothing. You play at their sufferance, only for as long as they allow. If they change or patch the game, you have no option to play the old version anymore. You probably can't sell or trade your games. You can't use it when the Internet is down. You lose the game forever when they get tired of supporting it.

You are, in every respect, a renter. You have been evicted from your home, and forced into an apartment, where fees will be extracted from you constantly. Yes, the apartment may be very nice, but you own nothing in it, and are allowed to use it only in certain prescribed, defined ways. Violating those rules can easily get you kicked out, losing all the accrued money you've spent.

I keep telling people, and they keep failing to listen, that there is no limit to how bad these deals can get. If you take this deal, the next deal will be even worse. They will continue to try to clamp down and suck every dollar out of your wallet, unless and until you say NO.

There is no limit here. No matter how bad these deals get, they can, and will, get worse.

An entire article about a video game console that doesn't mention games even once.

This shows that you don't get what these consoles have become. Video games is only one function these devices fulfill. These things have become media centers. That's what this is stressing. This makes these devices far more useful in the home. I'm more likely to buy and XBOX One or a PS4 today than I was to buy a PS3 or 360 when they came out. Calling these things video game consoles is like calling the Galaxy S3 a phone. It's time to start looking at these things as more than simple gaming platforms. So far the One is winning my hard earned money.

Wow, so much hate. Fist the PS4 and now this. What did everybody expect? I'm actually curious. Some life-altering, never seen before, mind-blowing, playstation-nuking, self-driving, self-aware, skynet machine?

It's a console. It's a centralized media center for games, videos, music, tv and any other media. It seems cool to me and I will definitely be buying one.

The haters are out in full force and no one cares about your snarky comments saying 'har, har look everyone, it has tv, how revolutionary, i'm an idiot, har har'.

I expected something where you can sit down and play a game without relying on an Internet or an account of some sort or servers doing calculations or a Kinect being active, and all those components working properly and smoothly. You know, like older consoles. If they want to make this a "media center" that's fine, but at least have an option or different model that just plays games without all of this garbage that doesn't interest me.

I haven't seen anything that says you can't do that. They are touting their new features. They aren't going to spend an entire new product reveal telling you how it is going to be just like the old product. But nothing in this tells me you won't be able to turn off your Kinect or internet and just play a game. So, as of now, you got what you expected.

My big question: Is XBox Live still going to be required? I love what the 360 is capable of, but it's annoying to have to pay to get access to other stuff you have to pay for.

Most likely. They're throwing a lot of "Always connected" marketing soundbites around. 90% of the features they're touting would require an internet connection - and I assume a Live subscription because why not.

All this "cloud", social and kinect gesture-controlled stuff really doesn't sound appealing to me.

None of all that stuff sounds very appealing to me but the same thing happened with all of the Apple products. There will be some people like myself that may never get on board but there will be droves of people that do and even some of those will talk about how reluctant they are or how much it costs but they'll still all buy it anyway.

An entire article about a video game console that doesn't mention games even once.

This shows that you don't get what these consoles have become. Video games is only one function these devices fulfill. These things have become media centers. That's what this is stressing. This makes these devices far more useful in the home. I'm more likely to buy and XBOX One or a PS4 today than I was to buy a PS3 or 360 when they came out. Calling these things video game consoles is like calling the Galaxy S3 a phone. It's time to start looking at these things as more than simple gaming platforms. So far the One is winning my hard earned money.

I get exactly what they've become. But let's face it - nobody is buying one of these if it doesn't have compelling games. I already have a Blu-Ray player and I don't need a new box to stream Netflix from.

Wow, so much hate. First the PS4 and now this. What did everybody expect? I'm actually curious. Some life-altering, never seen before, mind-blowing, playstation-nuking, self-driving, self-aware, skynet machine?

It's a console. It's a centralized media center for games, videos, music, tv and any other media. It seems cool to me and I will definitely be buying one.

The haters are out in full force and no one cares about your snarky comments saying 'har, har look everyone, it has tv, how revolutionary, i'm an idiot, har har'.

From a designer's perspective I expected a better industrial design of the shell itself. The controller looks nice, but Kinnect and Xbox harken back to 80's. The GUI looks good and "flat" (which I like, others may disagree), but they applied that same cold industrial feel to the box itself and I don't care for it much. I like the curvy Xbox 360 the most in terms of aesthetics.

Graphics-wise they look about the same, I think people are upset not because Xbox is worse than PS4, they might be about equal, but it's the presentation style and how this information is communicated that gives off a "slapped together" feel as they seemingly stumble around their own presentation. They're not emphasizing, building up momentum, basically they're failing at public speaking. Something that Jobs was good at and even Sony pulled off well few months ago.

Wow, so much hate. Fist the PS4 and now this. What did everybody expect? I'm actually curious. Some life-altering, never seen before, mind-blowing, playstation-nuking, self-driving, self-aware, skynet machine?

It's a console. It's a centralized media center for games, videos, music, tv and any other media. It seems cool to me and I will definitely be buying one.

The haters are out in full force and no one cares about your snarky comments saying 'har, har look everyone, it has tv, how revolutionary, i'm an idiot, har har'.

Well someone has to balance out the hyperbole coming from MS/Sony.

These consoles sound pretty cool, no doubt. But when someone is shouting at you about how this new console is going to destroy your perception of entertainment and completely revolutionize everything...you have to be a little bit skeptic.

EA 'partnership' might mean exclusive titles (FIFA or Madden even?) and the whole idea of having a Kinect monitoring you and being "Always on" just makes me nervous.

The whole social aspect is also quite cool, but I'd rather it be a side feature instead of something you need to actively avoid all the time. I don't need to see live updates of what achievements my friends have unlocked while I'm trying to play my own game.

Wow, so much hate. Fist the PS4 and now this. What did everybody expect? I'm actually curious. Some life-altering, never seen before, mind-blowing, playstation-nuking, self-driving, self-aware, skynet machine?

It's a console. It's a centralized media center for games, videos, music, tv and any other media. It seems cool to me and I will definitely be buying one.

The haters are out in full force and no one cares about your snarky comments saying 'har, har look everyone, it has tv, how revolutionary, i'm an idiot, har har'.

I expected something where you can sit down and play a game without relying on an Internet or an account of some sort or servers doing calculations or a Kinect being active, and all those components working properly and smoothly. You know, like older consoles. If they want to make this a "media center" that's fine, but at least have an option or different model that just plays games without all of this garbage that doesn't interest me.

I haven't seen anything that says you can't do that. They are touting their new features. They aren't going to spend an entire new product reveal telling you how it is going to be just like the old product. But nothing in this tells me you won't be able to turn off your Kinect or internet and just play a game. So, as of now, you got what you expected.

That's my hope. I'm embarrassed to say I'm impressed there's an integrated media center like this so close, if it really can do all these things they say - it's way more than I expected - but I don't want that at the expense of just being able to sit down and play a game, one I actually own, or might have borrowed from a friend, or bought from somebody who didn't want it anymore, regardless of Internet connection.

The privacy concerns are prohibiting me from ever wanting to own one, too.

This is a tech reveal. MS is showing us far more than Sony did at theirs. What I liked a lot is the fact that they have a working One to show off. Still waiting for actual game play and not pre-rendered footage we usually see at these things.

Here's an upside for gamers: The focus of Kinect seems to be on voice control and menu navigation now, instead of gameplay. Want to use the media hub? Talk to it, whatever. Want to play a game? The system is programmed to recognize when you pick up a controller.

An entire article about a video game console that doesn't mention games even once.

This shows that you don't get what these consoles have become. Video games is only one function these devices fulfill. These things have become media centers. That's what this is stressing. This makes these devices far more useful in the home. I'm more likely to buy and XBOX One or a PS4 today than I was to buy a PS3 or 360 when they came out. Calling these things video game consoles is like calling the Galaxy S3 a phone. It's time to start looking at these things as more than simple gaming platforms. So far the One is winning my hard earned money.

I get exactly what they've become. But let's face it - nobody is buying one of these if it doesn't have compelling games. I already have a Blu-Ray player and I don't need a new box to stream Netflix from.

I only saw maybe 2 or 3 games I want to play on the P4. I only know of 2 for the One. Making a decision on games NOW is idiotic. Neither console will have a big enough library to justify buying these things just for playing video games. I've seen enough abut the One to say I will likely buy it but based on history, I will wait and let other gamers beta test these things before I make a final decision.

So, this now entirely does away with the concept of game ownership. You buy nothing. You keep nothing. You play at their sufferance, only for as long as they allow. If they change or patch the game, you have no option to play the old version anymore. You probably can't sell or trade your games. You can't use it when the Internet is down. You lose the game forever when they get tired of supporting it.

You are, in every respect, a renter. You have been evicted from your home, and forced into an apartment, where fees will be extracted from you constantly. Yes, the apartment may be very nice, but you own nothing in it, and are allowed to use it only in certain prescribed, defined ways. Violating those rules can easily get you kicked out, losing all the accrued money you've spent.

I keep telling people, and they keep failing to listen, that there is no limit to how bad these deals can get. If you take this deal, the next deal will be even worse. They will continue to try to clamp down and suck every dollar out of your wallet, unless and until you say NO.

There is no limit here. No matter how bad these deals get, they can, and will, get worse.

To be fair, you've never actually "owned" anything.

Being a PC gamer, we all started accepting this many years ago when Steam became the de facto digital distribution platform on the PC. I personally resisted digital distribution until everything started requiring Steam activation. Ultimately, convenience will always trump the ideal that "consumers have always used to own their stuff".

Instead of bellyaching over the fact that you can't resell your games anymore, just enjoy gaming for what it is really is - enjoying interactive experiences.

Interseting that they would want the Xbox One going up against the PS4 (or even the Xbox 360).

This will not confused parents at all this holiday season.

None at all.

How so?

Parents (those who don't know better, anyway) will do the same thing they've been doing for years. They'll either walk up, grab the box on display (wait, you thought stores were going to have big display showcases for the 360 while hiding their Ones in the back?), pay, and walk out; or the conversation will go something like:

"I want to buy that game station"

"Umm, so, you want a playstation?"

"No, the X one"

"So you want an XBox?"

"Yes, and it HAS to be the newest one."

(as someone else pointed out, conveniently that also works with the One's name... as ridiculous as using the marketing strength [simplicity, rank prominence, etc] of "One" as a word is for something that should get a version or at least some other label to better extinguish it from the original XBox)

Well is a good thing I'm getting me a PS4, I have a Roku and Google TV. I want games damn it not TV oh yeah I also got regular TV with Comcast. How the hell is this going to get me better games. Yawn...BORING.....!

So I'm paying for xbox live and I'm playing my game and I'm going to have to sit through commercials before my game loads the next level... watch that's where they are going to take this shit.